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MOSCOW, Aug. 1 (JTA) — A Russian business tycoon who proudly displays his Jewish roots yet is disavowed by Jewish leaders may seek a parliamentary seat from a “Jewish region” of Russia. Boris Berezovsky, who is believed to have converted to Orthodox Christianity a few years ago, is one of the wealthiest men in Russia…

MOSCOW, Aug. 1 (JTA) — A remark by Russia’s former prime minister is winning him adulation by the country’s anti-Semites — and criticism from Jews and mainstream media. The controversy surrounding Viktor Chernomyrdin is creating worries that the Jewish card may be played in Russia’s upcoming parliamentary elections. In this week’s edition of Zavtra, Russia’s…

MOSCOW, July 29 (JTA) — In a surprise show of solidarity with the Jewish community, Moscow’s mayor has participated in a thanksgiving ceremony with a congregation that narrowly escaped a bombing earlier this week. Yuri Luzhkov, who was the first high-ranking official to condemn Sunday’s attempted bombing of the Bolshaya Bronnaya synagogue, took part in…

MOSCOW, July 27 (JTA) — Some three-quarters of Russians believe that all citizens regardless of their ethnicity should enjoy equal rights, according to a recent poll. But one-third also believe that a person’s ethnic background should be taken into account when an individual is elected or appointed to powerful positions, according to the survey conducted…

MOSCOW, July 27 (JTA) — The Communist mayor of a southern Russian city has backed Russia’s largest ultranationalist organization, giving credence to the group’s claims that it has supporters in high places. Stavropol Mayor Mikhail Kuzmin voiced his support for the Russian National Unity group in a meeting earlier this month with Russia’s interior minister,…

MOSCOW, July 25 (JTA) — A rabbi’s 12-year-old son has prevented a bomb from going off inside a Moscow synagogue. The incident at the Bolshaya Bronnaya shul — in which no one was hurt — came less than two weeks after a Moscow Jewish leader was stabbed inside another synagogue in the Russian capital. The…

MOSCOW, July 19 (JTA) — A grandson of Stalin has found a familiar target for Russia’s current woes — the Jews. Yevgeny Dzhugashvili charged that “Zionists” are ravaging Russia and that there are “practically no [ethnic] Russians” in the current Russian Cabinet, the Interfax news agency reported. The statement was similar to a series of…

MOSCOW, July 18 (JTA) — One of Russia’s wealthiest and most powerful men said his Jewish roots will hinder his run for a seat in the Russian Parliament. “Of course, this problem exists for me in connection to the next election campaign,” Boris Berezovsky said in a television interview Saturday with the ORT channel, which…

MOSCOW, July 15 (JTA) — In contrast to Israeli and American leaders, who swiftly and unambiguously condemned the stabbing of a Jewish leader in Moscow’s Choral Synagogue earlier this week, Russian politicians have been quiet about the attack. Their silence is a “bad sign,” according to Pavel Feldblum, the executive vice president of the Moscow…

MOSCOW, July 14 (JTA) — The immigration of Russian Jews to Israel is reaching its highest levels since the mass exodus of the late 1980s and early 1990s, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel. “If the trend continues, the number of Russian Jews [making aliyah] might reach 30,000” this year, which would be the…